Garden Doctors: Beet plants need to be thinned out

Karen C. of Santa Rosa asks: Whenever I sow beet seeds, they come up very close together. I’m sure that I’ve spaced them correctly, yet they’re still overcrowded. Why? Also, which varieties make the best greens?

Beets are biennial, meaning that they go to seed during their second growing season if they’re not harvested. The corky-looking beet seed you plant is actually a cluster of up to six individual seeds. This means that after the seedlings emerge, you’ll have to thin them down to one seedling if you want well-developed beets. If you wait to thin them until the leaves are several inches long, you can use the thinnings and the immature beets in cooking. Leave the most vigorous-looking plant in each group and pull the rest out. Water them after thinning to firm the loosened soil. Don’t try to transplant the thinnings unless you’re growing them for the leaves only, because transplanted beets end up rough, gnarly and twisted. All beets have edible leaves, but “Bull’s Blood” and “Lutz Green Leaf” are grown primarily for their foliage and are quite tasty!

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Linda G. of Sebastopol asks: I’ve had a strawberry pot for many years, and I’ve always planted strawberries in it. Two years ago, I experimented with succulents, and last year, colorful annuals. This fall I want to plant herbs in this clay pocket planter. What herbs do you suggest?

Here are the top five herbs, based on popularity and most frequent use in cooking: sage, tarragon, rosemary, thyme and oregano. Of course there are many other herbs to plant, such as the annuals basil, cilantro and dill. Think about which herbs you use most in cooking, and go with those.

Keep the soil moist, especially during the hottest part of fall if we still haven’t had much rain. Trim the herbs throughout the season to keep plants productive. Use the fresh clippings in recipes, or dry herbs to use later in the year.

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Jessica C. of Santa Rosa asks: How and when do you plant Ranunculus? They are the most beautiful flower I have ever seen!

Ranunculus are one of the most brilliant of the spring-blooming bulbs. The 3- to 6-inch frilly, camellia- or peony-like flowers grow on 12- to 18-inch stems, ranging from white to pink, red, yellow and orange, and are indeed beautiful. They have another virtue: They are good cut flowers, and they can last indoors for about seven days after cutting.

Ranunculus leaves are grass-green in color and are celery-like, and grow in a mound 6 to 12 inches across. Flowers emerge in March from fall-planted bulbs, and in June and July from spring-planted bulbs, flowering for up to six weeks.

Choose a spot in full sun with well-drained soil. Dig 3 to 4 inches of compost or well-rotted manure into the top 6 to 8 inches of soil at the planting site. Plant ranunculus 2 inches deep, placing the bulb with the “points” or “claws” facing down and the “eyes” facing up. Space the bulbs 4 to 12 inches apart, depending on variety.

After they have finished blooming, don’t cut the foliage off. The leaves will gather sunlight and provide energy for next year’s show. Water as needed during the growing season. Ranunculus actually prefer not to be watered while dormant.

At the end of the summer, when the leaves turn yellow and die back as the plant slips into dormancy, then you can cut back the foliage. The ranunculus will rest for a few months before beginning the next growing cycle.

Dana Lozano and Gwen Kilchherr are garden consultants. Send your gardening questions to The Garden Doctors at pdgardendoctor@gmail.com. The Garden Doctors can answer questions only through their column, which appears twice a month in the newspaper and online at pressdemocrat.com.